Camping, The Muggle Way
by The Werewolf Mage
Summary: James gets the brilliant idea to go camping, like Muggles. For a whole weekend. Will they make it? Or will they run home with their tails between their legs.


Title: Camping, The Muggle Way

Summary: James gets the brilliant idea to go camping, like Muggles. For a whole weekend. Will they make it? Or will they run home with their tails between their legs.

The four Marauders found themselves at a corner table in The Three Broomsticks. It had been ages since they had all been together, enjoying themselves, and James, for one, had taken notice. "Anyone got plans for this weekend?" he began casually, glancing around at the other three.

Peter was the first to answer. "No, I've got nothing planned, why?"

Sirius sighed, ran his fingers through his hair and said, "I told that redhead I was going to meet her this weekend. I guess I could tell her my mum's ill or something. Depending on what you have planned, of course."

James glanced at Remus innocently. "Moony?" he asked. "Anything special this weekend that you can't reschedule?"

"Nothing I can't work around." Remus sighed finally. "What are you up to, James?"

"Well... since we've been out of school, we haven't been spending much time together." James said, pouting and nodding his head slowly.

"Aw, feeling neglected, James?" Sirius asked, grinning.

"Why, yes, I am! So I propose we all go camping this weekend. You know, kind of, well not really, like how we shared the dorm at Hogwarts."

Peter and Sirius exchanged glances, then slowly agreed to it. Remus, however, did not really feel like sleeping on rocks would be a good way to catch up on what had happened since they had left school. "A bunch of guys... alone... in the woods..." he trailed off slowly. "And no magic either, I suppose?"

"Nope." James grinned. "Lily told me how Muggles camp. And we're going to do it that way. And you're going, whether you want to or not."

Remus, who was still not willing to go, raising an eyebrow and said, "If we're not using magic, how are you going to make me?"

"Blackmail." James replied.

"Fine, I'll go." Remus muttered, looking sour. "Anything we need to bring?"

James thought for a moment and said, "No, no, I think I've got it all. Just meet me at Godric's Hollow at sunset, all right?"

That they did. Remus had his wand safely tucked away, just in case. Sirius looked rather excited about the idea of camping. Peter looked wary, no doubt thinking something was probably going to happen. "Ready?" James asked with a grin.

Lily brushed a kiss against his cheek and said, "I doubt you guys'll last out there all weekend. But have fun, all right? And don't burn the woods down."

"Anything else?" James asked, smiling as he returned her kiss. Lily thought for moment then shook her head. "All right, let's boldly go, gents."

Sirius and Peter let out happy cheers and grabbed the knapsacks James held out to them. Remus sighed and took his, too, rather unenthusiastically. "Let's boldly go." he muttered, rolling his eyes at Lily who gave him a sympathetic smile before heading back into the house.

James, Sirius, and Peter were all ready tearing through the woods a little way's away from the Hollow, whooping and hollering, stumbling around like idiots. James declared a clearing right in the middle of the woods a proper place and began to dismantle, erm, assemble, the tent.

"Do you have any idea what you're doing?" Sirius asked, watching him with a mixture of interest and the urge to start laughing at him.

"Nope." James grinned. "But I'm sure between the four of us, we can get it up."

"Or we'll wind up making Moony do it, like we always do." Sirius smirked.

It took nearly four hours to get the tent up, and the four of them were exhausted. They clambered inside semi-blindly until James fumbled with the camping lantern. "Better." he muttered, snuggling up in his sleeping beg.

Sirius was stretched out on top of his sleeping bag. Remus was glaring randomly from inside his sleeping bag, trying to stay away, seeing as how he was fairly sure James, or Sirius, or both, were going to do something horrible to the first person to fall asleep.

Peter, slightly nervous being outside, was shivering slightly in his sleeping bag, every little noise startling him.

A loud crash echoed from around the tent where they had left their food. "What was that?" Peter whispered, glaring around wildly.

"Probably the girls trying to scare us." James muttered, getting up and grabbing the lantern.

After fumbling with the zipper tot he tent for about a minute, the four peeked around the flap and saw a mama raccoon and two little babies, eating all their food. "Aww, look at the weasels." Sirius cooed.

"They're not weasels!" Remus hissed. "They're raccoons."

"Go catch me one, Peter." Sirius said, shoving Peter out of the tent.

"I'm not catching you one! They're rabid!" Peter muttered, trying to get back into the tent without the raccoons seeing him. But the mother did. And, seeing him as a threat to her babies, pounced.

Sirius, while clutching his sides in laughter, said, "Oh, man, that went better than I thought it would."

"That was harsh." Remus whispered, trying to hold back his own laughter as James tried to help Peter, by beating the raccoon off with a stick. "Hold still, Peter!"

"James, you git, you're hitting me, not the rodent!"

"Well, there you go." James laughed. "She's obviously attracted to you, Peter."

With a tiny sigh, Remus pulled out his wand and muttered a quick Disarming Jinx, sending the raccoon into the bushes as Peter scrambled back into the tent.

"Moony, I said no magic!" James whined.

"Well, the stick obviously wasn't working!" Remus argued, crawling back into the tent.

Peter was huddled in the corner, shaking, covered in scratches and bites. Sirius was still howling with laughter. Remus was frowning and James was torn between laughter and fussing at Remus some more.

It took a while for Sirius to stop laughing at Peter and the raccoon, but he finally quieted down and the rest of them nodded off. Around three in the morning, James awoke in a puddle.

"Gross! Sirius wet the tent!" he shouted, getting to his feet, drenched.

"I didn't do it." Sirius grumbled, rolling over in his sleep.

Another drop of water hit James on the head and he glanced up. There was a small tear in the tent, and it was raining, water dripping everywhere. "Great." he sighed sarcastically. "Moony, get up and fix this!"

Before Remus could even stir, the tent, which had been holding the rain water for quite some time, basically exploded, showering them all with water.

"That's it!" Remus, shivering slightly and looking like a drowned rat, snatched up his wand and knapsack and headed home.

"I'm with Moony." Sirius muttered, grabbing his own things and racing to catch up to Remus. Peter quickly followed. James, defeated, dragged himself back home.

"I knew it." Lily said, smiling, as she saw the four of them heading up the path. "Thought I have to admit, you boys lasted longer than I thought." Realizing they were wet, she added, "What happened? Fall in a lake or something?"

James muttered a hurried explanation to her. "Oh, and Peter got mauled by raccoons." he added.

"Sirius laughed at me!" Peter added.

"Never again." Remus muttered, shaking his sodden bangs out of his eyes.

"It wasn't fun?" Lily asked him with a tiny smile. Remus quickly shook his head. "Not even a little bit?" Lily prodded.

"You try camping with those three!"

With a laugh, Lily said, "I'd rather not."

Before Remus, Peter, and Sirius headed home, they silently agreed: "We will never speak of this again."


End file.
